School-based elective
Make ownership part of learning.
A school-day elective connects identity, financial decision-making, and entrepreneurship. Students develop ideas, test them, and build ventures through real-world execution.
For school leadersPrograms / for students
Bring your experience. Build your possibilities.
You don’t need to arrive with a business. Start with your interests, your perspective, and an idea you want to explore.
Community fellowship
Build with a community around you.
A community-based experience creates space to explore ideas, learn from mentors, engage audiences and customers, and develop a venture alongside fellow young creators.
Ask about upcoming opportunitiesCurriculum alignment
Aligned with New York’s Portrait of a Graduate. Built for the real world.
Ownership Is The Future connects classroom learning to meaningful, real-world experience.
Our curriculum is mapped to the six competencies in New York State’s Portrait of a Graduate, an implementation priority for NYC Public Schools.
Students have opportunities to develop these competencies as they research problems, create and test solutions, communicate with real audiences, make financial decisions, collaborate with others, and reflect on their next steps.
Learning becomes tangible. Students produce Founder Stories, research records, prototypes, budgets, websites, presentations, and portfolios that help them demonstrate what they know and can do.
These experiences also support their preparation for college, further education, careers, entrepreneurship, and lifelong ownership.
Portrait of a Graduate competencyHow OITF students practice itStudent work that shows it
01Creative Innovator
Students generate business ideas, create prototypes, test solutions, and improve them through feedback.
Prototypes, product samples, and revised designs
02Critical Thinker
Students conduct research, interview customers, evaluate evidence, and make informed decisions.
Customer interviews and research records
03Effective Communicator
Students develop Founder Stories, pitch ideas, answer questions, listen, and communicate across different media.
Founder Stories, pitches, and live presentations
04Reflective and Future Focused
Students explore identity and strengths, reflect on growth, and connect learning to college, careers, and future goals.
Reflections and college and career plans
05Academically Prepared
Students apply research, financial literacy, budgeting, pricing, mathematical reasoning, and planning to meaningful work.
Budgets, pricing models, and financial decisions
06Global Citizen
Students examine community needs, recognize cultural and community assets, and consider ethical, responsible value creation.
Community-needs research and venture missions
These are curriculum design alignments and learning opportunities, not claims that every student has demonstrated mastery. Framework: New York State Portrait of a Graduate (NYSED) . OITF’s alignment is its own and does not imply NYSED certification or endorsement.
What you bring. What you build.
More than an idea.
An experience that stays with you.
01 /
Identity
Start with who you are.
Lived experience is an asset. Young people discover their strengths, interests, and the opportunities only they can see.
02 /
Action
Make something real.
Students turn ideas into ventures: testing assumptions, engaging customers, making decisions, and bringing their work into the world.
03 /
Ownership
Build a future you own.
Real entrepreneurial experience becomes financial agency, assets, and evidence of the ability to shape what comes next.
Student opportunities
What comes next
starts with a conversation.
Ask about upcoming cohorts, eligibility, and application opportunities. Current dates and application details are shared directly by the OITF team.
For students and families: please use an adult’s contact details and don’t share sensitive information about a student.